Ammon – The United Nations World Food Program today welcomed a contribution of $6.8 million from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, to support its operations in Jordan.
This funding will provide much-needed support to Syrian refugees living in camps, and arrives just in time to avert further imminent cuts in food aid.
The agreement was signed between Eng. Ahmed Al-Beez, Assistant Supervisor General for Operations and Programs at the King Salman Relief Center, and Majid Yahya, Representative of the World Food Program in the GCC countries.
“As part of KSrelief’s strategic partnership with the World Food Program, we are pleased to announce an important financial contribution to assist vulnerable Syrian refugees in Jordan,” said Al-Bayez. M.
He added, “With great optimism, we hope that this third phase of support for Syrian refugees will succeed in achieving its objectives and make a significant impact in alleviating the food insecurity and malnutrition faced by Syrian refugees.”
“Saudi Arabia’s contribution comes at the right time to enable us to continue providing food assistance to Syrian refugees in the camps amid an acute funding shortfall,” said Alberto Correa Mendez, Country Director and Resident Representative of WFP in Jordan. “This contribution is testament to the strong partnership between the Kingdom and the World Food Programme, which has consistently focused on helping refugees meet their nutritional needs and alleviating the suffering of the most affected groups.”
Despite this new funding, WFP still urgently needs US$23 million to continue providing food assistance at its current low levels until the end of the year. And in the absence of additional funding in the coming period, the World Food Program will have to suspend its assistance to refugees inside and outside the camps in October.
This important support for WFP operations in Jordan is not the first of its kind, as Saudi Arabia previously contributed to providing assistance to Syrian refugees residing in camps in 2021 and 2022, amounting to $12.8 million and $6 million, respectively. With this year’s contribution, the Kingdom is confirming its role as a prominent donor to support the most vulnerable refugees in Jordan.
The World Food Program has been present in Jordan since 1964 as a strategic and operational partner of the Jordanian government. Through this long-term partnership, the program works to strengthen the capacities of national institutions, their strategies, systems and programmes, while providing humanitarian and livelihood support to the most vulnerable population groups.